Qualities of good learners and good workers were among the topics discussed as representatives from area school districts, industry, government, and higher education came together Wednesday afternoon at the Barren River Area P-16 Council meeting. The Allen County School District hosted the council meeting at the Allen County Cooperative Extension Office in downtown Scottsville.
P-16 councils are composed of education, business, and community leaders working together to increase the success of all students, from pre-school through college and beyond. P-16 councils lead comprehensive, coordinated efforts to close achievement gaps and to raise the level of educational attainment and economic development in Kentucky. The Barren River P-16 council includes Allen County Schools, Barren County Schools, Bowling Green Independent Schools, Caverna Independent Schools, Glasgow Independent Schools, Simpson County Schools, and Warren County Schools.
Rick Fisher, Direction of Instruction for the Allen County School District, addressed the council on the district’s work toward a Good Learner Qualities document---a blueprint which will help students both in the classroom and beyond.
“We spend a lot of time focusing on a few things---acquisition of knowledge, refinement of enduring skills like literacy, mathematics, social skills, and also teaching students how to communicate in the 21st Century,” Fisher explained in his introduction. “We do spend a lot of time working on these things year-after-year, day-after-day, student-after-student but we still find something is missing. Some variables are missing that we need to thing about. Why are brains and talent not a ticket to success?”
Fisher used research-based examples to introduce two variables which are deemed important in discovering why some students find success while other students struggle.
“The first variable is persistence,” Fisher said. “Let me tell you three stories. A survey was done of high school students who were given the question, “How much time would you spend on a homework problem you didn’t know how to do?’ The answer was an average of two minutes---it ranged from 30 seconds up but showed an average of two minutes. Point two, in a study of first graders in the United States and in Japan, students were given a very difficult puzzle. Japanese students worked 40 percent longer to try and solve the puzzle. Japanese students put forth 40% more effort. Another example is the TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) test---the international test to rank all the countries in the world in terms of who is smartest in math. It has a 120 questionnaire that you are asked to complete before you take the actual test. It turns out that there is an exact coordination between the rankings of the countries of the world in terms of who is smarter in mathematics with the number of questions that are answered on the questionnaire. You see, a lot of students don’t answer the questions on the questionnaire. They don’t persist because it gets boring but it’s important to the task.”
The second variable is called grit.
“Grit has been talked about and studied about but not really identified as to what we are talking about but it is a valuable,” Fisher pointed out before showing a PowerPoint slide to show some common words associated with grit---words like courage, creativity, confidence, optimism, tenacity, and conscientious.
Fisher next tied the variables into the equation of what educators are trying to do each day with every student.
“Persistence and grit are what we will call the growth mindset part of our equation that includes knowledge, enduring skills and to communicate,” Fisher said. “So, the question is, can we teach growth mindset, can we teach kids to think and use these skills, persistence and grit? Research tells us that it can happen. The psychologist who coined the phrase growth mindset took two groups. One group was trained to think that it’s not about your ability but rather that you have made some kind of mistake. If you work at that, study the problem more, you will get better, and you will be able to solve the problem. Nothing was done with the second group. So, in the study, the students who got the training saw a rapid increase in their ability to solve the problems while the group who got nothing else continued to spiral down. We think we can teach growth mindset and we think it’s a key ingredient in career readiness”
Research and study has led to work in the Allen County School District to create a Good Learner Qualities document.
“We brought 26 teachers and administrators together last spring and began to work on this challenge,” Fisher explained. “We began to create a matrix about what a good learner does that other people do not---what good students do that other students just don’t do. You can even substitute good workers for good learners. We are also working at what good learners look like and do in the classroom. We’ll be rolling this out later in the year and began to teach our students good learner qualities.”
Fisher noted as well that the goal is to build into students the characteristics that business and industry officials look for in employees. His points tied in with the presentation put forth by Millie Ortiz, the human resources manager for Dart Container in Horse Cave. Ortiz enlightened the council on the challenges which come into play in hiring and retaining employees for the Horse Cave based company which currently has approximately 1,470 workers.
“We have people coming to us who can not fill out a job application on-line, can not read and write, and are not skilled in interviewing,” Ortiz explained. “We have problems of people showing a lack of commitment, people who have poor attendance, people who can not work well with others, and people who do not have basic math skills.”
Ortiz reminded the council that her industry needs well-educated and technology-minded individuals for the future.
“We need a work force that can read and write, do basic math without a calculator, and be familiar with industrial technology,” Ortiz noted. “We need a personal accountability instilled in young people and young people prepared for whatever future opportunities would come their way.”
Other speakers shared exciting programs and activities going on in south-central Kentucky education. Cheyanne Fant, the director of 21st Century Learning and Nutritional Services with Barren County Schools, spoke about the success of their 21st Century Learning Program. Jennifer Rogers with the Barren River Area Development District, outlined a new program available to students designed to help students prepare for college and career---including the possibility that students who complete the program could find immediate work in industry following graduation.
Other speakers included Western Kentucky University associate professor Dr. Gary Houchens who briefed the council on a new School Improvement Scholastic Review Teacher Survey being developed at WKU. Keith Haile, principal at Glasgow High School presented tips for ACT improvement while Jim Flynn, superintendent of the Simpson County School District, updated members on a recent visit to the Mooresville School District in North Carolina---a leading school district in the nation in terms of technology available to students.
The meeting also included welcomes from Scottsville Mayor Rob Cline, County Judge-Executive Johnny Hobdy, and Richie Sanders, the Execute Director of the Scottsville-Allen County Industrial Development Authority.
P-16 councils are composed of education, business, and community leaders partnering together to increase the success of all students, from pre-school through college and beyond. P-16 councils lead comprehensive, coordinated efforts to close achievement gaps and to raise the level of educational attainment and economic development in Kentucky.